Beach lovers will enjoy these delightful beeswax seashell candles, which look right at home in a glass terrarium filled with sand. I live near the ocean and like to collect shells whenever I visit the beach so I have plenty just waiting to be crafted into something special. Seashell beeswax tea lights are a wonderful way to create mementos of special trips to the beach or vacations by the ocean.
If you don’t have a collection of found seashells and don’t live near the ocean, you can buy them at your local craft store inexpensively.
Materials:
- Clam or oyster shells, deep enough to hold some wax, similar size to a tea light
- A double boiler
- Beeswax
- Waxed and wired tea light wicks with tabs
- Decorative sand and small seashells
- Glass bowl
- Tray
Make it!
1. Melt the beeswax in a double boiler. Keep a close watch on it so that it can be poured as soon as it’s completely liquid. 
2. Prepare the seashells by washing them thoroughly and setting them as you want to fill them in a tray filled with sand. The sand will help to keep the shells in place while the wax is poured and sets.
3. Carefully pour wax into the shells, making sure that they stay level and wax doesn’t pour over the edges.
4. Place a wick in the center of each one. The wicks are short and should easily stay in place.
5. Let the seashell tea lights cool and cure for 24 hours undisturbed.
When they are ready, make candle terrariums by filling the glass bowl with decorative sand and shells and setting the tea lights inside.
You could also experiment with colored sand. I personally like the natural look of my white-sand terrariums, but I can see how a little pop of color could add some fun to this display as well. Pastel blues, purples, greens, and pinks might make these terrariums feel more mermaidy.
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
ooh! Love this idea. This would be a perfect holiday gift! Can’t wait to make my own :)
As someone who finally moved off the prairies and now within 5 min of the ocean I love it! I could even do this!
Love the shell tealights and want to do them. I’ve never worked with melted wax of any kind. How do you clean the double boiler post production?
Hi Shirl, I use a pot for just candle making and soap making. But if you don’t have one, wipe the pot really well with a cloth when the wax is still liquid, then wash a few times with soap and water. Beeswax is all natural so it’s fine to use this pot for food afterwards. I would buy a totally separate pot of you are using paraffin wax though.
This is a really neat idea!